Ole Miss basketball moves up in national polls

UPDATE: Ole Miss moved up in both national polls. They are No. 16 in The Associated Press poll after being No. 23 last week and No. 16 in USA Today/ESPN Top 25 after being No. 24 last week.

Complete polls below …

REWIND: Ole Miss (17-2, 6-0 SEC)

Looking back
After scoring just 18 points in the first half, the Rebels rode the hot shooting of guard Marshall Henderson to score 44 points in the second half and rally to beat Tennessee 62-56 on Thursday.
Ole Miss played at Auburn just 48 hours later and were a woeful 4 for 17 from the free throw line, but the two biggest free throws of the night – the two hit by Henderson with 6.4 seconds remaining – were the difference in the 63-61 win.

Looking ahead
The Rebels host Kentucky on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and will be on ESPN.
A win could set up a showdown of the SEC’s only unbeaten teams in Gainesville on Saturday, provided the No. 8-ranked Gators win at home against South Carolina on Wednesday night.
It’s a 6 p.m., tip for Ole Miss at Florida, and the game will be shown on ESPNU.

Who’s hot
Henderson averaged 21.5 points in the two games, and guard LaDarius White had a season-high 17 points to lead the Rebels at Auburn.

Who’s not
Senior forward Murphy Holloway continues to be strong on the boards but has been held below double-figure scoring the last two games. Holloway had eight points against Tennessee and five points at Auburn, where he hit 1 of 6 free throws attempts.

RPI watch
WarrenNolan.com has the Ole Miss RPI at 31.

Bottom Line
This team is finding ways to win, but the competition rises this week. Kentucky is a fraction of what it was a year ago but will have more scorers than Tennessee or Auburn, and Florida is playing well in all phases.